Knitting needle



May 31,1932. I J. POTTER 1,861,358

- KNITTING NEEDLE Filed Jan. 29, 1930 HG. I Ha I. F

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Patented May 31, 1932 Hairs s'rarss PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK J. POTTER, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO FRED J. POTTER COMPANY, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY K ITTING NEEDLE Application filed. January 29, 1930. Serial No. 424,230.

This invention'relates to the manufacture of spring beard knitting needlesintended for cam actuation.

Needles of the kind specifically referred to are ordinarily made from round wire stock which does not permit integral formation of actuating butts with sufficient strength-and of proper configuration to withstand the wear incident to their use in knitting machines, so that individual supplemental jacks are commonly used with such needles. In view of the fine gages now demanded, particularly in connection with hosiery manufacture, spring beard needles made as just explained, are inherently weak by reason of their susceptibility to easy fiexure, and do not recelve suflicient support in thls regard from the butt jacks associated with them.

Use of such needles is moreover attended by uneven wear of the grooves provided for their guidance in the knitting machines the jack componentscutting deeper into the side walls of the grooves than the frail shank componentsto the end that streaks are occasioned in the fabrics when replacements are made by reason of beard breakage.

The purpose of my invention is to overcome the several drawbacks to which attention has been directed through provision of a spring beard needle made from flat sheet metal stock with a comparatively broad shank capable of effectively resisting flexure, formed integrally with a broader solid lower portion from which the butt projects, and preferably characterized by having an extension below such actuating butt whereby the needle is prevented from rocking in its guide groove.

I am aware that attempts have been made heretofore to produce integrally formed spring beard needles from flat stock, but these have been unsuccessful due to the tendency of the metal to fracture incident to bending By my novel method of manufacture I am able to effectively avoid strains tending to rupture the metal as the beards are turned, with production of a spring beard needle that is less expensive to manufacture and more highly efficient in use than the two part needle to which reference has been made.

In the drawings, Figs. IVI show successive stages in the process of integrally forming a spring beard needle in accordance with my invention from flat sheetsteel, Fig. VII illustrating the finished knitting needle which I claim as my invention.

In producing my new knitting needle, I stamp or die cut from a sheet of flat rolled steel of appropriate thickness, a blank 10 having the configuration shown in Fig. I.

I then round the upper narrow end of this blank 10 which is to constitute the shank of the needle, as shown at 11 in Fig. II. This can be accomplished in many ways as,. for example, by rolling.

I next form a groove at the proper point in the rounded shank 11 as shown at 12 in Fig. IIIwhich groove is to ultimately receive the pointed end of the spring beard. This groove 12maybe formed by any appropriate tool, and according to my invention, instead of being placed in the plane of the flat lower portion of the blank, is cut at right angles thereto as illustrated in Fig. III.

Following this, the rounded portion 11 is reduced in thickness as by milling it front and back, with incidental flattening of the upper end of the shank in a plane at right angles to the flat lower end of the needle blank, as shown at'lt in Fig. IV.

The shank of the needle is thereupon subjected to a twisting operation whereby the flattened upper end of the needle is turned through an angle of 90 into the plane of the 'originalsheet of metal, as shown in Fig. V. In the next step of the process the upper end of the needle shank is further reduced from the front, by milling or otherwise, and at the same time shaped into the form of a tapered tongue such as shown at 15 in Fig. VI for the spring beard.

As a final step, the tapered tongue 15 of Fig. VI is bent over to form the spring beard 16 of Fig. VII with its point adjacent to the groove 12 which is to receive it when said beard is pressed by the beard pressers. The

foregoing procedure results in the completed needle shown in Fig. VII, which, it will be observed, has a flattened upper shank 17 terminating in a spring beard 16, a somewhat wider flattened middle shank portion 18, and a still wider lower portion 19 having an actuating butt 2O projecting from one side edge, said butt being preferably allocated at adistance from the bottom end of the needle with consequent provision of a downwardly .reaching extension 21 that servesto prevent rocking of the needle in its guide groove.

By quarter twisting the upper end of the shank after the manner above explained, it is possible to produce a spring beard which is bent over, not in the plane in which the sheet of metal was originally rolled, but at right angles to such plane, or with the grain of the metal. The resultant needle beard is thus safeguarded against fracture in being bent to shape, and again crystallization incident to being constantly flexed in the use of the needle.

The needle thus produced possesses all the advantages of ordinary spring beard needles formed from wire, and is novel by virtue of the fact that it has as an integral part there of, a wide fiat lower portion with the actuating butt extending from one side and preferably at a substantial distance above the extreme lower end of said flat portion. Ac-

cordingly I am able to dispense with the butt jacks which heretofore had to be used with spring beard needlesof ordinary construction intended for cam actuation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The process of manufacturing a spring beard knitting needle which consists in producing a profiled blank for the same from fiat sheet 'metal stock, and in the course of developing the shank imparting an axial twist thereto, whereby the formation of the springbeard is accomplished by bending in a plane at right angles to the original sheet of flat stock.

2. The process of manufacturing a spring beard knitting needle which consists inproducing a profiled blank for'the same from flat sheet steel with a laterally projecting butt, and in the course of developing the shank imparting a quarter twist thereto, whereby the formation of the spring beard is accomplished by bending in a plane at right angles to the original sheet of steel.

3. The method of manufacturing a springbeard knitting-needle which consists in shaping a blank from fiat sheet-metal stock, rounding that portion of the blank constituting the needle shank, forming a groove in the rounded portion-at an angle relative to the blank fiat portion, reducing the rounded shank to flatten-the same in a plane atan angle to the blankflat portion, imparting an axial twist to the'flattened shank portion to turn the same co-planar with the blankflat portion, reducing the shank end beyond the groove to tongue formation, and bending such tongue to form a spring beard with its tip adjacent the shank groove.

4. The method of manufacturing a springbeard knitting needle which consists in stamping a profiled blank from flat sh eet steel, rolling that portion of the blank constituting the needle shank to round section, forming a longitudinal groove in the rounded part at right angles to the blank fiat portion, milling the rounded part at its front and back to flatten the same in planes at right angles to the blank flat portion, imparting a ninetydegree twist to the flattened shank part to turn the same co-planar with the blank flat portion, reducing-the shank end beyond the aforesaid groove to taper-tongue formation, and bending such tongue to provide a spring beard with its .tip adjacent the shank groove.

5. The method of manufacturing a spring beard knitting needle which consists in profiling a blank from flat metal stock with provision of a shank and a solid actuating butt at a distance above the bottom of the said shank; twisting the blank during development of the shank; and bending over the upper end of the shank in the plane of the blank to form the beard.

6. The method'of manufacturing aspring beard knitting needle which consists in profiling a blank from fiat metal stock, with a narrow shank, a wider bottom portion and a solid actuating projecting butt intermediate the length of the said bottom portion; twisting the shank through an angle of ninety degrees during development of the shank; and bending over the upper end of the narrow shank in the plane of the blank to form the beard.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at New Brunswick, N. J this 25th day of January, 1930.

FREDERICK J. POTTER. 

